Scotchie Monster Cookies
Our house divided and conquered this weekend. My husband took our oldest to a basketball tournament, and I held down the fort with the two littles. For the record, my 11-year-old would like it officially noted that he is no longer one of “the littles.” He is nearly my height and finds the title deeply offensive. I, however, plan to keep using it until at least age 30.
Here’s what happens when I have any cross-section of the boys on my own: we go easy. We rent a movie, grab pizza from our favorite spot, and bake cookies.
This weekend it was monster cookies. Because all my boys, especially the biggest one, love chocolate and peanut butter. My tiniest human is also a huge fan of “num-nums,” otherwise known as M&Ms, which I think is a very fair rename.
There’s one accidentally glorious addition to this recipe. Several years ago, I found myself short on chocolate chips and subbed in butterscotch instead. A girl works with what she’s got.
Here’s the deal: it has become the thing people notice. Who knew? Butterscotch. That ingredient we all forget we secretly love.
These cookies are easy to toss together. Cream the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined. If you’re anything like me, you’ll need to talk yourself out of stopping here and eating it straight from the bowl. And if that’s your bias, I do have another cookie recipe that’s essentially this mixture rolled in almond bark. That one will absolutely test your restraint.
Better to press on. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together (read: toss with a fork) the flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until everything comes together. These cookies are meant to be soft, and overmixing will toughen them up. For that reason, stir in the chips and M&Ms by hand, folding gently until evenly distributed.
Scoop tablespoon-size rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. The dough can be sticky, so patience and a second spoon help.
Bake at 350° for about 9 minutes. They’ll still look soft when you pull them out. Let them rest on the warm cookie sheet for a few minutes so they set up just enough to hold together while staying gooey in the center.
As with most baked goods in this house, my kids insist these are best warm. The real question is whether they make it to the start of the movie.
Scotchie Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup oats
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup each chocolate chips butterscotch chips and M&M’s
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cream peanut butter, butter, and both sugars together with mixer
- Blend in eggs and vanilla
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt
- Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined
- Add in the chips and candy with a spoon, so as not to break them up
- Use a tablespoon or other spoon to scoop rounds onto cookie sheet prepared with parchment
- Bake for 8-10 min
- Allow to set for an additional few minutes on cookie sheets prior to moving to cooling racks
